Termas de Chillan, Chile – Love at first site—it’s a rarity. But when I met La Rosa, I knew it was
true.
Photo: La Rosa

Don’t go thinking I just met my bride-to-be. No, La Rosa is a van and a guy named Sebastien owns her. She is big, red, has duallies on the back, and a grained-wood interior. She has a sink, dual benches, storage, and, with a little effort, you can fit a dozen shreds and gear in her to go riding at Termas de Chillan. A worthy object of affection indeed.

Photo: Hiking to the hot springs

Termas de Chillan lies a five hour train ride and two hour bus ride south of the Chilean capitol of Santiago and is where I spent the last three days with the K2 Snowboards crew. Despite warm weather, rain, snow, sleet, and limited sleep, we managed to find a lot of fun features to ride amongst the expansive, rolling volcano upon which the resort is built. From the dragon’s tail, a gnarled, curve tree to natural quarterpipes and gully slashers, Termas delivered in less than epic conditions. It was three fun days of riding on sketchy, curved pomas and dilapidated doubles with trees trying to hook your board off and nights gambling in the casino at the resort amongst the Chilean bourgeoisie.

Photo: Aaron Robinson

But three days isn’t long and we are now back in Farellones for three more days of sun-drenched riding at the triple resorts of La Parva, Valle Nevado and El Colorado, where road runs beckon and a reasonable park keeps the jib-friendly occupied. But it feels like something is missing—riding the resort shuttles just seems to lack a bit of character after our time in Chillan.
Photo: The Crew

Viva La Rosa—and here’s to more good riding in the southern hemisphere.

Farellones, Chile (August 21, 2009) – When traveling to a new country there are always adjustments to be made. In the case of Chile, you might call it the C-factor: 10 minutes means anywhere from a half hour to an hour and a half. If they say you need to wait an hour, you better have a good book.

While the C-factor might be frustrating for the type-A person who needs constant stimulation, learn to embrace it and move at a slower pace and one can appreciate the local flavor. When I arrived August 19th to meet up with the K2 Snowboards team, that meant a day and a half to explore Santiago. It also means the mountains stay open until 5 p.m. leaving ample time to explore at a leisurely pace.

We didn’t get to the small town of Farellones and resort of La Parva until noon yesterday and found mellow gullies and untracked snow despite the fact it hadn’t snowed in a couple days. With a network of alpine pomas and rocky ridgelines, La Parva (which is neighbored by El Colorado and Valle Nevado), has ample terrain from mellow cruisers to untouched chutes in a side-country zone known as McConkey’s. It felt good to feel a bit of powder underfoot and get back to winter after a long, hot summer, if only for an afternoon.
Today, weather moved in and a whiteout is keeping us out of the high alpine, but Farellones is built on a hill and there are plenty of jibs to stay occupied. Tomorrow, we will board the train to Termas de Chillan down south and with storms in the forecast, pow days are imminent.

Check out Frequency Magazine for more on lots of sweet stuff including further blogs on the trip to the other America.